Does it make you feel simple?

Chalkstar

Does it make you feel simple, that so many people watched the chimney smoke from the vatican.

I know that it has so much tradition behind it, but when you think logically, millions of people around the world tuned in to a pipe, just to see if white smoke or black smoke eventually bellowed from a thin metal tube. I love the traditional and I'd be telling a lie if I said I wasn't anxious to see what color the smoke would be, but sometime in that hour that I was watching I thought to myself, such a simple thing nowadays, smoke, signals one of the biggest decisions and something that changes the future.Smoke, is a part of history.

Evil Gay

Im actually not sure what i think of the smoke tradition. Im sure most of the impact on whos the next pope comes from the cardinals voting. They are still the ones who decides who will be good for the catholic society and who will not. As i understand it, the new pope is a trangression untill whoevers "behind the curtains" (the cardinals? (the wizard of Oz? )) decides the new direction the church will take. Many feel the church needs a make over, a new appearance, and the new pope is certainly NOT the man to bring this new dawn. He is highly conservative and from the old school, or old testament if you like. But he is 78 years old and will not be the pope for long, and therefor not have the greatest impact on the churchs society.

I am not religous in any way, but that does not mean religion dosent have an impact on my every day life, and considering the above i guess im glad they use the smoke tradition. It gives a feel that among all the politics involved in the choosing of a new pope, there is still a taint of god. They can discuss and plan all they like, but in the end, theres still a factor to be reckoned with, that they have no control over.

Krelian

I'm not so sure that the new pope is going to be bad for the Catholic church. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they're losing all sorts of members due to apathy. A hardline conservative like Darth Benedict will create more of a clear division in the church, I think. While it may not do much for their standing in the eyes of outsiders, I think the logic is that it's better to take a stand and gain the support of one side in a controversy than to ride the fence and lose on both sides.

spoof

IMPOV the “new” pope has been appointed because he is extreme. A certain strategy of cognitive anchoring and adjustment has been adopted.

Religious change doesn’t happen over night. It takes years. I believe this is the strategy adopted.

No matter how many years it takes for the next pope to be placed, the current one will espouse views so outdated and extreme that the next will seem extremely liberal, even if only espousing the views as given at the time of the (previous) Pope’s death.

The more things change, the more things stay the same in the long run.

I wish there weren’t more articles such as THIS, but obviously there are. A great, great deal more.

A more truthful Vatican statement would be:

“Yes, we are opposed to homosexuality, but if some of our priest chose to rape young boys, then we will endeavour to cover up such actions for decades”.

If people gain solace from believing in an ideal, or believing in something “undefinable”, than fantastic. I’m very happy for them and wish them all the best.

If they chose to believe in an institution that for decades has relied upon the victims of “inappropriate sexual misconduct” to remain silent through fear, then I might have a few comments

YES such conduct was only carried out by a few(ish), but the fact remains that such “indiscretions” were actively covered up by the Institution over a very long period of time.

………….and these same people are attempting to set moral judgement on the rest of us.